The widow of a millionaire businessman has won a High Court victory against a close woman friend of her husband for the return of his cherished £55,000 Aston Martin.

Judge Christopher Tetlow, sitting in London, rejected a claim by single mum Amanda Stonestreet that generous Rino "Roberto" Santi, who made his fortune with a company specialising in Italian food, had made her a gift of the super car shortly before he died in July last year.

Alcoholic

The judge made an order for the "delivery up" of the vehicle to Mrs Gillian Santi, a part-time GP, of Lewes Road, East Grinstead.

Ms Stonestreet, of Eastbourne Road, Pevensey Bay, who had a platonic relationship with 60-year-old Mr Santi, was present in court for the ruling.

Smartly-dressed Mrs Santi, who had lived apart from her alcoholic husband since 1996, was also present to hear the successful outcome of her action against Ms Stonestreet over ownership of the car.

Ms Stonestreet, whose gifts from Mr Santi included her home in Eastbourne Road, cars, holidays and sums of cash, had failed to establish "that there was a gift in this case", said the judge.

He added: "I have no conviction that there was any such gift made or intended and in those circumstances there must be judgment for the claimant (Mrs Santi)."

He said: "The defendant's evidence has a shifting sands quality about it, I regret to say, which does not impress."

Giving the background, he said Mr and Mrs Santi married in 1976 and had a daughter Francesca, now 16.

Mr Santi became a wealthy man and his "passions" included motor racing and classic cars.

The Aston Martin DB7 at the centre of the case was a gift on his retirement from the business, Crawley-based Pasta Reale, in 1997.

That car and his vintage E-

type Jaguar were "prized possessions".

The judge said that unfortunately Mr Santi later became an alcoholic.

In 1996 Mr and Mrs Santi

separated. He bought his own house not far from the former marital home.

Mr and Mrs Santi remained on reasonable terms, said the judge. A decree nisi was granted in March 1997 but a decree absolute was never entered.

The judge said it was clear that Mr Santi enjoyed female company and he was generous towards his women friends.

During the hearing he had been told that Mr Santi liked to surround himself with attractive young women, who were "trophies", not mistresses.

His relationship with Ms Stonestreet "was a platonic one" and it was "quite clear that Mr Santi was very, very generous towards the defendant and probably much more so than he was towards the other female companions that we know about".

In 1998 he bought a house in Eastbourne Road for about £67,000. Ms Stonestreet was allowed to live there rent free.

Another example of Mr Santi's generosity, said the judge, was that in June last year he transferred that property into her name.

He also gave her gifts of cash. Between October 1997 and July 1999 regular sums were paid into her bank account, some of them substantial.

The last payment was for £3,000 on July 20, 1999.

Unemployed

The judge said: "During this time she worked for part of the time for a commercial property company, but for most of that time she was unemployed and on benefit.

"It's quite clear that Mr Santi was her main financial support at this time."

Mr Santi died at home on July 25 last year, the day before he was due to appear before magistrates on a drink-driving charge.

After the ruling, in which Ms Stonestreet was ordered to pay the costs of a one-day hearing, her counsel asked for leave to appeal claiming that the judge's findings were not supported by the evidence.

The judge refused, but her lawyers can still apply directly to the Court of Appeal to take the case further.

Both women left court without comment.

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